What’s it like to learn with AWC?
Each year, thousands of students just like you achieve their writing goals through our courses and world-class presenters. Here they share how their new-found skills and confidence enriched their life.
I liked that it was positive feedback and delivered in a kind way. Putting out your writing when you're not confident in it can be extremely nerve wracking so having positive and yet constructive feedback returned was a nice little confidence boost. It makes me want to keep trying. I saw a few comments in the chat that were encouraging too and I appreciated that.
I really enjoyed the assignments. They didn't feel overwhelming or unachievable and forced me to think about different aspects I wouldn't have considered before. Also the audio lessons were easy to listen to and I enjoyed the option not to have to listen to all the modules at once. Having it delivered in "bite size" pieces made it all so much easier to digest and I feel like I really was able to absorb so much more that way.
If you're thinking about trying your hand at writing but don't know where to start, this is a good place to learn some basics. It's a positive environment and encouraging and you'll come out of it feeling inspired instead of overwhelmed.
Thank you for a really fun few weeks. I hope I can save my pennies and do some more courses because I've learned a lot!
The tutor was very knowledgeable in the field of writing.
I enjoyed sharing my assignments, reading other students' work and workshopping with the other students.
It has given me the tools to start developing my writing in a more sophisticated way, to look more closely at story structure and how to create more interesting characters and scenes.
Great course that touches on all the important elements in creative writing and how to critique your own work and start creating your best work.
Jenny was thorough and helpful with her feedback and suggestions. I valued her input, and feel my story was stronger from what I learned. Reading Jenny's feedback to other students was equally as valuable.
I enjoyed the interaction with other students, and the opportunity to read and comment on a wide range of genres. It was great! The timeframes were a bit challenging for me, and I did not make the word count goal I set, but I'm carrying on with renewed enthusiasm.
I'm energised and happy with the way my story is progressing, and I met some really interesting people. Some of us have decided to keep supporting each other after the course finishes.
Great value, excellent content, credible tutors - just go for it.
This course was easy to follow, logically presented and broken down into modules that could reasonably be tackled each week around a busy life. I enjoyed the assignments each week (both writing my own and seeing the great things my fellow classmates created from the same prompts) and found the feedback valuable and insightful. I worked through the bonus exercises and felt that I really learned some tips to improve my craft.
Angela was positive, fun and friendly. All feedback was extremely detailed and constructive and empowered you to continue trying and working through the modules.
I enjoyed being challenged by the story prompts each week and realising I did have the ability to come up with something. Proving to myself that I actually have the capacity to start something and see it through.
The course was straightforward, insightful and really beneficial to anyone who wants to start writing or improve their craft. With helpful feedback and other classmates cheering you along, it is a welcoming space to engage with other like-minded creatives and pick up so many tips and tricks to help make your stories better.
Angela was great. Insightful and polite. Fostered a good environment.
The course is well structured and gives you a good introduction/grounding in some fundamentals. Course material was very good also. Really enjoyed the course. It has given me more confidence and knowledge and inspiration.
Alex was great. Her feedback was always constructive and positive. I enjoyed being able to complete the course at my own pace.
Learning about pitch emails was definitely an a-ha! moment. I had been writing them myself, but had no replies from editors at all. Seeing the way it should be done was eye-opening. I can write professional pitch emails now!
I loved everything about this course. Angela was warm and encouraging. The audios were very informative and I liked how the course was structured to push us forward in the writing process.
It's hard for me to find the time to write and this course gave me a structure to build a writing practice and exercise some skills.
I would say this course is a great way to test if writing is really something that you want to do and also to help assess which basic skills need working on before moving onto the next course.
Just a big thank you to Angela and everyone who worked on the course.
I was concerned about the computer side of things as this is the first online course I have ever done. I was also very concerned that I wasn't good enough to complete the course - but I have learnt so much in such a supportive environment that it has given me the belief I really can do this.
Angela was wonderful in her feedback and really helped convince me that my writing was good enough. She was also so prompt in her delivery of the feedback even when not well.
I loved the learning. It was made so interesting in the presentation and the use of so many authors works as examples. I also loved the feedback of other students.
It has given me the confidence to follow a 50-year dream of being a published author.
A highly professional and supportive organisation. Thank you to everybody who put this course together.
I wanted to gain more confidence in my writing and I'm so grateful I did this course. I think it was very detailed and covered to perfection. One-on-one feedback was highly needed at this time.
The assignments I think were very interesting. They made me look at my own writing from a new perspective, something I might not have learned on my own.
I was stuck in a creative writing rut for a long time, and I felt like I needed something to unhook my mental blockages, and I thought a course would be helpful because I would have assignments and deadlines to motivate me. The assignments were fun and made me feel excited to write again. I found myself looking forward to the assignments each week.
Angela is very engaging and very positive in her feedback, which helps improve my motivation. I really liked the tracked changes editing of the last assignment; it was very beneficial. I also found Angela very inspiring as a published author.
It was a good introductory course, because the learning and assignments weren't too demanding; you can easily fit it in around a busy week.
I had been feeling for a while that I would like to be a professional writer, but I had lost my confidence and had a lot of mental blockages. The course gave me a boost. I realised that I can write pretty well, and that maybe I could pursue it professionally.
The course and tutors are really positive and inspiring, and the assignments are fun, and the workload isn't too heavy if you have a busy week. It is all set up in a way to help elevate your creativity and confidence.
Just a huge thank you! I would probably like to do another course through here in a couple of months as a treat to myself.
It was easy to understand and listen to the tutor. They sounded like they knew what they were doing and gave positive, constructive feedback, not just negative. I feel I've learnt a lot from the feedback given by the tutor.
The tutor didn't deliver the audio in a way that sounded like they were reading off a script. They injected humour into the talks and supplied examples. I liked how easy it was to listen in and learn.
Hearing the feedback from my first assignment was an awesome moment. I had no confidence that my character would be received well but hearing someone else voice what I had been trying to convey about the character was a big learning moment for me.
Strongly recommend. AWC tutors are friendly and know their stuff. If you're serious about writing, it's worth it.
I enjoyed the writing. The assignments, with deadlines, were great incentives for me to stop dithering and actually write. And the writing bit was fun, and the sense of achievement that came with that made it enjoyable.
What a lot of information you have fitted into a five-week course. I think I will have to go back and listen through it all again. And it's a great bonus that I can do that.
I have found the practical, professional and industry related elements of the course to be really helpful, and not something I've found before, even in my studies for a degree in illustration. The whole publishing world has always seemed such a distant, mysterious and impossible world to crack in to; I am really hopeful that this course has brought me closer to an understanding of the industry, and if I can get a foot in the door and begin working on my lifelong dream of making picture books, thanks to this course (I say dreamily & optimistically), I will be a very happy chappy indeed.
It's given me hope... I just hope I can cling on to that and actually get somewhere this time.
It was a highly professional, industry standard, bloody helpful, massive amount of information. And if you want to learn lots, I would highly recommend doing this course. In fact, I already have been recommending it. And I'm extremely grateful that it came recommended to me in the first place. I'm hoping it will be a game changer. Fingers crossed.
Angela sounded very knowledgeable yet friendly in the audio recording. I appreciated her feedback; it was clearly stated and made sense.
I liked that we could all see each other's work and could comment on it. The feedback was interesting and really helpful.
I knew there were different writing genres (crime, romance, thriller, etc) but the concept that creative writing had styles, points of view, even a few rules was very enlightening. I'm an avid reader of fiction but never noticed these things before, just simply got swept up in the story. Now, as I'm reading, I'm noticing not just what is written but also how it has been written.
I learned a lot and think it is well worth the time and money.
I was fascinated by the techniques used to examine crime scenes and the types of forensic analysts that could be called upon.
I understand a lot more about the types of evidence that can be collected, and what I could potentially incorporate in my writing.
Great insights into how to structure different types of novels.
The course broke down comprehensive learning modules into bite-sized chunks easy to recall and to apply.
The feedback from Bernadette was clear, concise and offered points of difference as well as other valuable tips to really market, position and grow the business.
The engagement with other learners made this a fun experience.
I needed some general hints on creative writing as I've done very little of it but find it such fun. It's something I used to do when young. I was worried about putting myself out there in front of other students - but I found this course very non-threatening and welcoming.
Angela was lovely and encouraging.
It has shown me how much I enjoy writing, whether or not I have any talent. It has opened me up to the possibilities.
The course is a good introduction to creative writing in a non-threatening and accepting forum.
I thought it was perfect. I went from self-doubt and low confidence to believing I can do this. It fired me up to feel that I can accomplish a dream
If you ever want to put your story to paper you need to look at AWC for a clear path that you can follow. I spent too long wondering if I could be a writer when I should have taken this step long ago.
I enjoyed it. Angela was really encouraging and gave personalised feedback.
The assignment was my favourite. A clear task and feedback. I didn't realise how little attention I paid to tense before.
It was great. We get all the technical info but are left to explore our imagination.
I enjoyed listening to Valerie's professional but relatable content. Now I have the foundation to create blogs without having to 're-invent the wheel.' I feel more confident.
It's perfect if you have a thirst for learning something new in an engaging way.
I found the content so thorough, helpful and relevant - a lot has changed in the world and in writing for children since I first started learning and writing for this audience.
Pamela was wonderful, generous and encouraging to everyone. Her feedback was insightful and helpful. She really was an amazing tutor and made everyone feel so at ease and encouraged.
I enjoyed the writing exercises and feedback the most.
If you're interested in writing, just do it! The AWC provides a great supportive environment and you will learn so much.